Carmel Clay Schools trustees shaved $4 million off a bond meant to pay for facility renovations and other projects, cutting it from $59 million down to $55 million. Then, at their Nov. 4 meeting, board members were blindsided by a resolution asking them to appropriate an additional $10 million in bond proceeds on top of that reduced figure, and they were not having it.
A Surprise Line Item Raises Eyebrows
The board had already trimmed the bond earlier in October, according to Current Publishing, which reported the reduction from $59 million to $55 million. So when a resolution tied to that same bond showed up on the Nov. 4 agenda proposing to appropriate $10 million more in proceeds, trustees said they were caught off guard by the size of the number.
CCS Associate Superintendent Roger McMichael, who oversees the district's finances, told the board that additional appropriations beyond a bond's stated amount typically cover issuance costs and related expenses. Still, he said he considered the $10 million figure unusually high, per the same report. McMichael added that bond counsel had originally proposed an even larger $15 million appropriation, an amount he said differed considerably from what had been approved with previous Carmel Clay bonds.
Board Members Want the Math to Add Up
Board member Kristina Wheeler pushed back hardest on the proposal, saying the district had cut $4.5 million from the total bond amount, only to now consider appropriating $10 million more than the reduced total. Her account of a $4.5 million cut differs from the $4 million reduction implied by the bond moving from $59 million to $55 million, as reported elsewhere in the same meeting coverage. Wheeler said the $10 million appropriation seemed unnecessary and inappropriate.
Board member Jennifer Cashin said she had expected the $55 million bond figure to serve as the cap, covering project costs, issuance costs and any other expenses, rather than needing a separate appropriation on top of it. Cashin also said identifying the total project cost upfront would improve transparency and help the district avoid similar confusion in future bond discussions. Other board members echoed discomfort with approving the resolution without a clearer understanding of why the appropriation was so large.
Vote Tabled, Bond Counsel Called In
Facing unanswered questions, the board tabled the vote on the additional appropriation resolution. Trustees requested that the district's bond counsel, from Barnes & Thornburg, appear at the next meeting, either in person or virtually, to explain the figures. McMichael had indicated he trusted the firm's advice on the matter, but the board wants those answers laid out directly before moving forward.
The next Carmel Clay Schools board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 18 at the CCS Educational Services Center. It remains to be seen what bond counsel will tell trustees about the gap between the reduced bond total and the proposed appropriation, a question the board left open rather than resolve at this stage.
How Carmel Clay Has Used Bonds Before
Bond financing is a familiar tool for the district. The Carmel Clay Schools Board of Trustees separately adopted a preliminary resolution to issue general obligation bonds totaling $6.25 million for technology and facilities, according to Citizen Portal. Of that smaller bond, about $5 million was earmarked for technology devices and related systems, with the remainder set aside for an accelerated tennis-court replacement, a high-school cafeteria exhaust-hood project and an early-childhood playground, per the same report.
